


Young

by 20Zvorak17



Category: Criminal Minds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-24
Updated: 2018-06-24
Packaged: 2019-05-27 14:48:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15026975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/20Zvorak17/pseuds/20Zvorak17
Summary: I've seen a lot of de-aged Reid fics but none that I found to be accurate so here's just a one shot.





	Young

**Author's Note:**

> I think JJ or Prentiss would be the most reasonable as well as the best choices and since Prentiss is with interpol while this takes place JJ it was.

JJ had not realized that Spencer could be more socially awkward than he'd been as an adult. She supposed he had learned, at least somewhat, how to temper his autistic tendencies. It made her sad that he felt he had to, but she knew that allistic people would have a hard time taking him seriously otherwise. Though his memories and adult mind were intact, he sometimes had to fight the instinct to act like a kid. She had put a hand on his shoulder and he'd nearly come to tears; frustration also brought moisture to his eyes that he had to blink away. So she naturally wanted to treat him like a child.

"Spence, I'm really sorry but--you need a bath before bed."

"Oh, I'd rather take a shower but I guess I can give myself a bath if you'd feel better about it."

She bit her lip, "Spence you can't..."

She watched him clench and unclench his fists, forcibly bringing forth the calmness that ordinarily came naturally to him--or seemed to.

"JJ, I did it all the time the first go around. Look, Mom was schizophrenic and Dad was understandably concerned about taking care of her. Not only was I already in school at this age, when I actually  _was_ four but I was bathing and dressing myself by three, when I actually  _was_ three. So I know you have Henry," he conceded, "and you think you know what having a four year old constitutes but that's any other four year old. I don't need it."

Knowing that, since his reversion to childhood people had been discounting his opinions, wants and requests, she opts to let him have this but not without at least leading him to a compromise. Perhaps she can sit in the bathroom facing the door or something. "Yeah, but you still have  _physical_ limitations, Spence."

"It didn't stop me when I really was a kid but if it'll put your mind at ease," he said, meeting her halfway if she'll just allow him his privacy and dignity, "we'll put a rocking chair outside the door, tie a string to it and every thirty seconds I'll yank it. If I don't yank it on the second you have my permission to come in and make sure I'm alright."

"Cool Hand Luke style?" She says, realizing that despite her maternal instincts and experience with Henry, her friend is right.

"I don't know what that is."

"Tell you what, we'll watch it next time we're on stand down."

His eyebrows crinkled in confusion, "We're not on stand down?"

"I've explained the situation to Will," she told him, "and I know you'd rather stay by yourself but CPS would get called and they're not going to buy that you're actually 31. You'd go into foster care and then there's not a chance that you wouldn't be treated like an actual four year old. But listen, if you physically can't do something it's because you're in a four-year-old body and you have to listen to it. Otherwise, I'm handing you over to Garcia."

Spencer shuddered, "Fine. I accept your terms  _of blackmail."_

"Jeez. You were dramatic as a child, weren't you?"

His mouth opened and closed. He mustered the most dignified look he could pull off-and on his tiny face it probably resembled constipation more than anything-and spun on his foot. "I haven't the foggiest idea what you mean. Grab the freakin' rocking chair."


End file.
